Ahmedabad-based start-up incubator iCreate (International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology) on Tuesday announced its third edition of the EV innovation challenge — EVangelise ‘23.
The challenge this year will focus on various classes of vehicles including heavy electric vehicles, earthmovers, and mining trucks.
iCreate has partnered with tech innovation hubs such as TEXMiN Foundation, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, Lukasiewicz Research Network in Poland, and other scientific research organisations in India.
EVangelise ‘23 will have two categories: the idea stage and the scale-up stage. Start-ups at the ideation stage (TRL 4 or below) will have the opportunity to present their concepts and potentially form strategic partnerships with industrial partners. Start-ups at the scale-up stage (TRL 5 or above) will have the opportunity to connect with venture capital firms to secure the necessary funding for their growth and expansion.
The challenge will conclude in December with a grand finale, featuring an EV Expo, award ceremony, thematic knowledge sessions, masterclasses, and an R&D track showcasing cutting-edge innovations in collaboration with research organisations in India and partner countries.
‘A global leader in EV’
In his message, Bhupendra Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat said, “As we embark on a journey towards a cleaner and greener future, the rise of electric mobility plays a pivotal role in shaping our civic mobility and infrastructure, towards the realisation of the Atmanirbhar Bharat. Through EVangelise, India will become a global leader in the electric vehicle industry.”
Commenting on the launch, Avinash Punekar, CEO, iCreate said, “EVangelise ‘23 is a testament to our commitment to actively contribute to India’s journey towards developing energy-efficient and sustainable mobility. Following the success of EVangelise ‘21 and EVangelise ‘22, which witnessed active participation from over 2,000 applicants, we are excited to build on that momentum and raise the bar even higher with EVangelise ‘23.”
iCreate has also announced the RISC-V Challenge, a hardware development contest. This will be an open-source development platform that will open up multiple technology use cases that will solve India-specific challenges in the EV domain. Up to 10 winners will receive a cash prize of ₹1 lakh each.